WASHINGTON — Eight Israelis and a dozen U.S. executives have been subpoenaed in a government probe of charges that Israel smuggled U.S. technology to produce cluster bombs, a Customs Service official said Tuesday night.

The United States banned the sale of cluster bombs after Israel reportedly used the explosive during the invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

The customs official, who requested anonymity, said 12 company officials were subpoenaed and federal agents searched three other U.S. companies Tuesday.

One of the three companies, identified as Vector Corp. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, makes equipment for coating medicine capsules, a product that can easily be used for military purposes.

Tom Buresh, a lawyer for Vector, would not comment,

The customs official said the eight Israelis subpoenaed by the U.S. government work for Israeli Munitions Industries in New York, a branch of the Israeli Defense Ministry.

CBS News reported Tuesday night that the Israeli ambassador was called to the State Department to notify him of the five-month probe, which also involves the Justice Department.

According to the customs official, IMI approached Vector and asked it to manufacture the technology needed to make cluster bombs. He said the Israelis wanted Vector to ''clean up the proposal so it would meet export requirments.''

The 12 companies subpoenaed by the government are located in five or six different states, and the official estimated the alleged scheme began in late 1984.